Invertible storage battery



I July 28;, 1936. c. J. DUNZWEILER ET AL 2,049,201

INVERTIBLE STORAGE BATTERY Filed Feb. 23, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet lINVENTORS CARL J. DuA/ZWE/LE/P ROBERT/l4 BAA/5y ATTORNEYS y 1936. c. .1.DUNZWEILER ET AL 2,049,201

INVERTIBLE STORAGE BATTERY Filed Feb. 23, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 CARL J.DUNZWE/L EH Rose-R7" M FAA/E) atented J? v 1936 GE Ba ey, 1 StorageEuclid,

corporaton of Cleveland, and Robert M.

Ohio, assignors to Com r Willard :I. Cleveland, 3

Application February 23, 1935, Serial No. 7,678

l0 Claims. (01. 136170) vide an improved construction for an invertibleor airplane type of storage battery, wherein the design and arrangementof the parts are such as to increase the available acid space and thuspermit a decrease in the over all dimensions of the battery.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved invertible orairplane type of battery having outer and inner covers and wherein novelmeans is provided for spacing the covers.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved battery, ofthe type mentioned, wherein one of the covers has spaced integralprojections extending toward and engaging the other cover.

It is also an object of this invention to provide an improved battery.of the type mentioned, having a lower compartment containing batteryplates and electrolyte and an upper electrolytereceiving compartmentprovided with a' cover, and wherein skeleton-like spacing means betweenthe plates and the cover is adapted to also form a cover for the lowercompartment.

The invention may be further briefly summarized as consisting in certainnovel combinations and arrangement of parts hereinafter described andmore particularly set out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings,

Fig. l is a perspective view with parts broken away showing a storagebattery container'having parts arranged therein according to ourinvention.

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken on an irregular section lineas indicated by 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the outer cover in detachedrelation.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the inner cover or diaphragm.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing another construction for the innercover, and

Figs. 6, 7, and 8 are partial perspective views showing otherconstructions for the outer cover and spacing means.

In the accompanying drawings to which detailed reference will now bemade, we have illustrated an improved storage battery of the invertibleor airplane type, wherein the construction and. arrangement of the partsis such as to increasethe available acid space to the extent that theover all dimensions of the battery may be reduced. It will beunderstood, of course, that the drawings should be regarded asillustrative only and that the invention may be embodied in storagebatteries of various sizes and shapes.

The storage battery shown in this instance is 10 provided with acontainer III which may be of any appropriate material and may be of anysuitable size, shape or form. In this instance the container haspartition walls II and I2 dividing the interior thereof into three cellsalthough the invention may be embodied in a battery having any desirednumber of cells. The container i0 is also formed'to provide a lowercompartment l3 and an upper compartment M for each cell. The lowercompartment, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings, contains theusualbattery plates and separators l5 and i6, and also contains a suitableelectrolyte. The bottom of the lower compartment may be provided withthe usual upstanding ridges II which form rests for the plates andseparators. The outer walls of the container and the partition walls IIand I2 thereof are provided with shoulders l9 at a substantial distancebelow the top of the container. These shoulders are located fast abovethe tops of the battery plates and separators or, in other words, at thejunction of the lower and upper compartments of the cells.

These shoulders provide a support for the diaphragm or inner cover Mlwhich separates the lower and upper compartments.

An outer cover 22 is provided for each of the battery cells and forms aclosure for the upper compartment M. 'This cover is the usual upwardLvdished cell cover which flts into the cell opening at the top of thebattery container. As shown in the drawings the cover may have the usualopenings 23 and 24 for the battery posts or terminals 25 and 26, and mayhave the usual vent and filling opening 21. The cover also has the usuallaterally extending marginal flange 28 around the lower edge thereof.The cover as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 fits into the upper part of the cellopening and may be suitably sealed therein by appropriate sealingcompound 29 located in the groove or space between the cover and thecell walls above the lateral flange 28.

For spacing and supporting the outer cover 22 at the desired heightabove the battery plates and inner cover 20 so as to form the upper com-55 engage in such recesses.

partment it into which the electrolyte may run when the battery isinverted, we provide spacing means which, in accordance with ourinvention, extends at spaced points between the outer cover and theinner cover or diaphragm. This spacing means may comprise posts orextensions 30 formed integral with the inner cover 20, preferablyadjacent the ends thereof, and which extend upwardly along the sides ofthe container and engage and support the outer cover 22. The extensions30 may be located at the extreme edge or margin of the inner cover sothat they will lie close to opposite side walls of the container. Theremay be two or more of these ex-' tensions and. they may be of anysuitable shape or form. In Fig. 4 we show the extensions as beinglocated at the ends of the inner cover 20 and as being relatively thinfiat posts of tapering width. The integral extensions 30 are of suchlength that when the inner cover 20 is supported upon the shoulders IQof the walls of the container, the outer cover 22 will be supported atthe desired elevation by the extensions.

It may be desirable to provide interengagement between the outer cover22 and the supporting extensions or posts 30 of the inner cover. Suchinterengagement may be desirable for the purpose of reducing oreliminating the tendency for the-outer cover to tilt or rock in the cellopening, particularly when the extensions of the inner cover are ofreduced width or engage onlyv two sides or ends of the outer cover. Suchinterengagement may be provided in various ways, for example, the flange28 of the outer cover may be formed with recesses 32 and the tops of theextensions 30 may be provided with lugs 33 which Adjacent the lugs 33the tops of the extensions 30 have shoulders 36 which engage the underside of the flange 28 adjacent the edges of the recesses 32. When theparts are in assembled relation, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the lugs 33extend into and substantially fill the recesses 32 and prevent thesealing material 29 from passing downwardly through the recesses.

As already stated, the present battery is of the airplane or invertibletype and has an upper chamber I 4 into which the electrolyte may runwhen the battery is inverted.- To permit such transfer of electrolyteinto the compartment It we provide the inner cover 20, with asubstantially central opening 36 for the passage of liquid and one ormore vent openings 3! adjacent the ends of the cover. The battery alsohas a vent and closure plug 38 in the opening 21 of the outer cover. Asis usual in batteries of this particular type, the plug 38 has anextension 39 thereon with a vent opening 40 adjacent its inner end. Theplug extension 39 is of suchJength that the end thereof containing thevent opening 40 will always be above the level of the electrolyte so asto permit the escape of gases from the battery even when it is ininverted position. The inner cover 20 also has openings 42 and 43therein which accommodate the terminal posts 25 and 26 extendingupwardly from the battery plates i5. To facilitate the flow ofelectrolyte into and out of the lower compartment of the cell, it may bedesirable to have one or both of the vent passages 31 of a length toextend for some distance above the cover 20 so that the air which isdisplaced from the lower compartment as the electrolyte returnsthereinto through the passage 36, will not need to bubble up through theelectrolyte. Such elongation of the vent passage 3'5 may be provided byforming the vent passage in one of the integral extensions 30 of theinner cover. To accommodate such elongated vent passage one or both ofthe extensions 30 may be provided with an increased body of materialforming a rib or enlargement 65 in which such vent passage may be formedas shown in Figs. 2 and 4.

The spacing means extending between the inner and outer covers 20 and 22may be of other form than that already described and, for example, maycomprise integral posts 45 extending upwardly at the corners of a coveror diaphragm 20' as shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings. Such posts are of alength to engage and support the outer cover in the proper position whenthe inner cover 20' engages the shoulder IQ of the cell walls. The posts45 may be of angular cross-section so as to fit into the corners formedby the container walls.

The cover 20 may have openings t2 and $3 for the terminal posts of thebattery, and may also have a central opening 36' for the passage ofelectrolyte when the battery is inverted or reversed. The cover 20' mayalso have one or more vent openings vill adjacent the endsfthereof and,if desired, one or both of these vent openings may be elongated byforming the same in an increased body of material 56 provided in therecess of one of the angular posts 55.

As stated above, interengagement between the outer cover and the spacingmeans may be provided in difierent ways, and, for example, in Figs. 6and 7 we show other means for accomplishing this result. In Fig. 6 theouter cover 68 is provided with lugs 49 at its ends which depend fromthe marginal flange 50 for engagement in re cesses 5! formed in the topsof the spacing extensions 52 of the inner cover 53. In Fig. 7 the outercover 55 has lugs 56 which depend from the marginal flange 57 and areprovided with tongues 58 and the tops of the spacing extensions 59 ofthe inner cover 50 have grooves 5! into which the tongues 58 extend whenthe lugs 5e engage the tops of the extensions.

Should it be desirable to eliminate the feature of interengagementbetween the outer cover and the spacing means to reduce the cost ofproducing these parts, or for any other reason, the flange 62 of theouter cover and the tops of the extensions 63 of the inner cover may beleft ly seen that the spacing means which extends to between the coversoccupies but very little room in the upper compartment of the cell andhence increases the electrolyte space of this compartment as comparedwith the electrolyte space available in similar batteries whichheretofore have been provided with spacing means extending along thefull perimeter of the cell. Furthermore, the spacing means which we haveprovided is of very simple construction since it is of skeleton-likeform and when made integral with the inner cover or diaphragm can beeconomically manufactured without an increase in the number of partsrequired to be assembled into the cell. It will be understood,furthermore, that by reason of the increased electrolyte space eavailable by the use of our skeleton-like form 01' spacing means, theoverall dimensions of the battery can be reduced, and this is a veryimportant iactor in the de'sign of airplane batteries.

While we have illustrated and described the improved battery of ourinvention in a somewhat detailed manner, it will be understood, ofcourse, that we do not wish to be limited to the precise details ofconstruction and arrangements of parts illustrated and described, butregard the invention as including such changes and modifications as .donot involve a departure from the-spirit of the invention and the scopeof the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. A storage battery comprising a container having a lower chambercontaining battery plates and an electrolyte, and an upper chamber, saidupper chamber comprising a cover and a diaphragm one of which has spacedintegral projections extending toward and engaging the other.

2. A storage battery comprising a container having a lower chambercontaining battery plates and an electrolyte, and an upper chamber, saidupper chamber comprising a cover and a diaphragm having spaced integralmarginal projections extending upwardly therefrom to the cover.

3. A storage battery comprising a container having a lower chambercontaining battery plates and an electrolyte, and an upper chamber, saidupper chamber comprising a cover and a diaphragm having spaced integralmarginal projections extending upwardly therefrom to the cover,

one of said projections having a vent passage therein. 7 a

4. In a storage battery, a container having a lower compartment withbattery plates and electrolyte therein and an upper compartment, a coverfor the upper compartment, a cover for the lower compartment, andskeleton-like spacing means between said covers.

5. A storage battery comprising a. container having lower and uppercompartments, a cover for the upper compartment, and a cover for thelower compartment, one of said covers having integral posts at its endsextending along the walls of the container and engaging the other cover.5

6. A storage battery comprising a container having lower and uppercompartments, a cover for the upper compartment, and a cover for thelower compartment, the latter cover having integral posts at its cornersextending upwardly to the upper cover.

'7. A storage battery comprising a container having lower and uppercompartments, a cover for the upper compartment, and a cover for thelower compartment, the latter cover having integral posts of angularcross section at its corners extending'upwardly in the comers of thecontainer to the upper cover.

8. A storage battery comprising a container having lower and uppercompartments, a cover 20 for the upper compartment, and a cover for thelower compartment, the latter cover having integral posts at its cornersextending upwardly to the upper cover, one of said posts having a. ventpassage therein. 25

9. A storage battery container having a lower compartment adapted tocontain battery plates and an electrolyte, and an upper compartment, acover for each compartment, one of the covers having spaced integralprojections extending to the other cover, and means providinginterengagement between said projections and said other cover.

10. A storage battery container having a lower compartment adapted tocontain battery plates and an electrolyte and an upper compartment, 9.cover for the upper compartment having recesses in the edge thereof, anda cover for the lower compartment having integral projections extendingupwardly to support the upper cover with portions of said projectionsengaging in said recesses. 1

CARL J. DUNZWEILER. ROBERT M. RANEY.

